I hadn’t planned to enter this year. Sandwiched as it is between Grim Beast In The East and BUPA 10,000, I thought I’d leave it this year and come back in 2012. But when SonNumberOne and SonNumberTwo started asking when they were running their 2k, I relented and entered… all of us for the 2k and, hell, I was going to be there anyway, me for the 10k.
This was to be the third time I had run this course, first in 2009 when SonNumberOne and I ran the 2k and I ran the 10k, and then last year when I ran the 2k with SonNumberOne, SonNumberTwo and Mrs eatingtrees and then the 10k with the mighty Hauling My Carcass. You can read reviews of previous years here and here.
The event itself has a friendly, village feel to it. A refreshing lack of corporate sponsorship, bouncy castles for the kids and cake stalls and a barbecue for the hungry.
The 2k was a blast… it is so great to see the joy on the kids faces when the race starts… all off like a shot with big grins. Some of the accompanying adults didn’t look quite so delighted as many looked like they were more familiar with the sofa and the remote than the running shoe. Myself and SonNumberOne finished in 16:24 with Mrs eatingtrees and SonNumberTwo coming in around the 22 min mark. And all the kids get medals…
Then at about 10:45, I set off to the start of the 10k. It is a short walk to the start and we make our way there, everybody chatting with each other as we file through along the narrow path. Once at the start, we settle into out respective zones, set out in expected finish times. Previous years I’ve gone for the 55mins – 1 hour zone as it is a challenging course with a few obstacles (stairs, kissing gates) where there is often a queue to pass. But having put in a couple of quick (for me) runs recently, I optimistically settle into the 50-55min section. As soon as everyone is in their place, we are off, bang on time and into the rolling countryside. A mixture of bridle paths, farmers fields, woodland tracks. I settle into my pace and at about 3km find myself running alongside a guy who has fallen into step with me. We begin talking as we run and the next few kms pass easily. There is a water point at 5km and I drop back slightly and put my headphones back in and concentrate on keeping a steady pace for the second half. There is a camaraderie not found in bigger events… runners ahead call back to those behind if there is a dodgy tree root or rabbit hole to avoid, people chatting and queueing calmly to get through the kissing gate
Obstacles successfully negotiated and with only one small trip over an incospicuous root, I finished in 52:43… a new personal best: beating my old pb by 2 mins and 5 seconds and my previous Wheathampstead times by 7 minutes. I see a few of the runners that I was talking to at the start and we swap congratulations and enquire how we each did. I love this event… it’s is completely unpretentious, very friendly, well organised and feels more like a village fete than a race. I will be back again next year.